It's taken almost two years, but steam locomotive 2926 is once again whole. In 2012, a group of burglars stripped the iron horse.

"It was heartbreaking when we found out it was gone," said Rick Kirby, the chief mechanical officer for the New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society.

"We didn't know if we were going to be able to come out of it or not because of the nature of the parts that were gone."

Locomotive 2926 was a passenger train from 1944 to 1953. It brought people between Los Angeles and Chicago, making a stop in Albuquerque.

For four decades, 2926 was on display in Coronado Park. It was destined for the scrap yard, until the society bought it from the city for $1 in 1999. The nonprofit organization then brought it to a Northwest Albuquerque rail yard for repairs.

Kirby said burglars broke in on five different occasions by cutting holes in the fence.

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"(They put in more than) 1,000 hours of work just dedicated to replacing the parts they stole that they sold for somewhere around 9 cents a pound," said Kirby.

Despite catching the burglars on camera, Kirby said they were never caught by authorities.

"We plan to put steam in it around 2015," Kirby said. By 2016, the society hopes to take passengers aboard for a number of trips.

To donate to the project, visit 2926.us. Kirby said replacing the stolen parts cost thousands of dollars.